Soar Like an Eagle or Quack Like a Duck

No one can make you serve customers well. That's because great service is a choice. A story is told about a customer who was waiting in line for a ride at the airport. When a cab pulled up, the first thing the customer noticed was that the taxi was polished to a bright shine. Smartly dressed in a white shirt, black tie, and freshly pressed black slacks, the cab driver jumped out and rounded the car to open the back passenger door for the customer. He handed the customer a laminated card and said: "I'm Wally, your driver. While I'm loading your bags in the trunk, I'd like you to read my mission statement." Taken aback, the customer read the card. It said: Wally's Mission Statement: To get my customers to their destination in the quickest, safest, and cheapest way possible in a friendly environment. This blew the customer away. Especially when he noticed that the inside of the cab matched the outside. Spotlessly clean! As he slid behind the wheel, Wally said, "Would you like a cup of coffee? I have a thermos of regular and one of decaf." The customer said jokingly, "No, I'd prefer a soft drink." Wally smiled and said, "No problem. I have a cooler up front with regular and Diet Coke, water and orange juice." Almost stuttering, the customer said, "I'll take a Diet Coke." Handing him his drink, Wally said, "If you'd like something to read, I have The Wall Street Journal, Time, Sports Illustrated and USA Today." As they were pulling away, Wally handed the customer another laminated card. "These are the stations I get and the music they play, if you'd like to listen to the radio." As if that weren't enough, Wally told the customer that he had the air conditioning on and asked if the temperature was comfortable for him. Then he advised the customer of the best route to his destination for that time of the day. He also let him know that he'd be happy to chat and tell him about some of the sights, or, if the customer preferred, to leave him with his own thoughts. "Tell me, Wally," the amazed customer asked the driver, "have you always served customers like this?" Wally smiled into the rear view mirror. "No, not always. In fact, it's only been in the last two years. My first five years driving, I spent most of my time complaining like all the rest of the cabbies do. Then I heard a personal growth guru on the radio one day. He said that if you get up in the morning expecting to have a bad day, you'll rarely disappoint yourself. He said, 'Stop complaining! Differentiate yourself from your competition. Don't be a duck. Be an eagle. Ducks quack and complain. Eagles soar above the crowd.' "That hit me right between the eyes," said Wally. "He was really talking about me. I was always quacking and complaining, so I decided to change my attitude and become an eagle. I looked around at the other cabs and their drivers. The cabs were dirty, the drivers were unfriendly, and the customers were unhappy. So I decided to make some changes. I put in a few at a time. When my customers responded well, I did more." "I take it this has paid off for you," the customer said. "It sure has," Wally replied. "My first year as an eagle, I doubled my income from the previous year. This year I'll probably quadruple it. You were lucky to get me today. I don't sit at cabstands anymore. My customers call me for appointments on my cell phone or leave a message on my answering machine. If I can't pick them up myself, I get a reliable cabby friend to do it and I take a piece of the action." Wally was phenomenal. He was running a limo service out of a Yellow Cab. That story has been told countless times over the years, and only two other cabbies ever took the idea and ran with it. The rest of the drivers quacked like ducks and and gave excuses for all the reasons they couldn't do any these things. Wally the Cab Driver made a different choice. He decided to stop quacking like ducks and start soaring like eagles. How about you? Do you need to change your attitude and business practices in order to grow your business? Truth@Life can help. Call 248-396-6255 or email me at curtis.songer@gmail.com for a FREE consultation. For more info on help I can provide check out http://truthatlife.com/